For years, a springtime walk along the Bayou Coquille Trail meant a spectacular show of giant blue irises in bloom. But for the last several years, only a few giant blue irises could be seen.

The last impressive bloom of giant blue irises was in 2002. Hurricanes pushed brackish water into the preserve, and in 2005,

Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of trees and opened the tree canopy. All that sunlight in the swamp encouraged the growth of other plants where the irises once grew.

Whether the giant blue irises will ever return in their previous numbers cannot be predicted. The flowers are thriving elsewhere in the preserve, and every year a few more are seen growing along the trails.